Used M Car from BMW - How much did you get off the price?
Discussion
I would imagine many factors could contribute to how much they would consider discounting. I think I managed to get about £2500 off of mine which was up for £38k. I wouldn't say I am the best negotiator out there either.
Could be the cars been sitting about longer than they would like or they need to meet end of month sales.
Could be the cars been sitting about longer than they would like or they need to meet end of month sales.
My last two (M) cars:
Up for £47k bought it for £43K - it took a week or two of backwards and forwards with the dealer wanting more and me standing my ground.
Up for £34K bought it for £32K - this was a rarer very low miles car and the first day they advertised it - I bought there and then.
So, as above, it depends on the car, how long they have had it and the number of similar cars in the dealer network.
More details on the car you are looking at might help.
There aren't targets for monthly/quarterly sales that attract BMW volume bonus payments - generally only profit targets set for the used car sales dept.
Up for £47k bought it for £43K - it took a week or two of backwards and forwards with the dealer wanting more and me standing my ground.
Up for £34K bought it for £32K - this was a rarer very low miles car and the first day they advertised it - I bought there and then.
So, as above, it depends on the car, how long they have had it and the number of similar cars in the dealer network.
More details on the car you are looking at might help.
There aren't targets for monthly/quarterly sales that attract BMW volume bonus payments - generally only profit targets set for the used car sales dept.
Well, after a month of searching for a auc f80 m3 we finally gave up and bought from a independent car dealer. Bmw offered my wife a very poor px price for her car and I would say 90% wouldn't move on the price of the car she wanted. (upto a 50k car)
Ok, we weren't in front of the dealer doing it face to face but over email before we travelled to view said cars.
There's no point looking if the prices won't work.
We had a 20k car to px and 25-30k cash sale for a M3.
Got a nice one now and were offered 2k more for her car and 1k off the M3 for sale by a large independent supercar dealer.. Bmw have just serviced it and given it an auc check for my wifes piece of mind for £400.
Ok, we weren't in front of the dealer doing it face to face but over email before we travelled to view said cars.
There's no point looking if the prices won't work.
We had a 20k car to px and 25-30k cash sale for a M3.
Got a nice one now and were offered 2k more for her car and 1k off the M3 for sale by a large independent supercar dealer.. Bmw have just serviced it and given it an auc check for my wifes piece of mind for £400.
ollie plymsoles I never pitch up to a dealer and buy a car. I think they have the upper hand when you are in their showroom. I might have got this wrong! I buy over the phone, as you say because you need to know if the sums add up for you. If they are not interested then you move on.
I have been following a M6 at BMW for a few months. It was up for 54k and now its down to 51k. It's not shifting. It doesnt have the spec I want however if it did then I would offer them £47k for it. I appreciate the M6 is limited in volume in 2012-2014 however sales tripled in 2015. Also there isn't much demand for these big cars so there is hefty depreciation if a car sits in the showroom for 3-4 months.
Ollie, were you not concerned about not getting a year warranty from BMW?
I have been following a M6 at BMW for a few months. It was up for 54k and now its down to 51k. It's not shifting. It doesnt have the spec I want however if it did then I would offer them £47k for it. I appreciate the M6 is limited in volume in 2012-2014 however sales tripled in 2015. Also there isn't much demand for these big cars so there is hefty depreciation if a car sits in the showroom for 3-4 months.
Ollie, were you not concerned about not getting a year warranty from BMW?
Lostprophet,
Hi, we had been looking for ages for the right spec and colour combo. A few dealers we phoned had sold the cars, but they were still on the auc website so that annoyed us too.
We were offered 20-21 for the wifes 330d with a very nice spec and told there was no movement on the car that we wanted to buy, not even 500quid off.! A week later one dealer phoned us back and offered 21.5k for it but still no movement!
We phoned a Leeds dealer and a week later they bothered to phone us back, so that was a lost sale to them.
In the end we got 23k for our car and 1k off an already well priced M3 from a large supercar dealership.
The car went to bmw yesterday for a full AUC check and the small service which was due later in the year, only to get an excellent report from bmw with them actually wanting to buy the car if we decided to sell soon lol.
The car still has some of the bmw warranty left.
Cheers. Ollie plymsoles
Hi, we had been looking for ages for the right spec and colour combo. A few dealers we phoned had sold the cars, but they were still on the auc website so that annoyed us too.
We were offered 20-21 for the wifes 330d with a very nice spec and told there was no movement on the car that we wanted to buy, not even 500quid off.! A week later one dealer phoned us back and offered 21.5k for it but still no movement!
We phoned a Leeds dealer and a week later they bothered to phone us back, so that was a lost sale to them.
In the end we got 23k for our car and 1k off an already well priced M3 from a large supercar dealership.
The car went to bmw yesterday for a full AUC check and the small service which was due later in the year, only to get an excellent report from bmw with them actually wanting to buy the car if we decided to sell soon lol.
The car still has some of the bmw warranty left.
Cheers. Ollie plymsoles
It seems from your experience BMW are not particularly keen on discounting! It's a hard sale.
Did you get the service done at your own cost or did the supermarket agree to cover the costs?
I am glad everything worked out well. Were you not worried about potential accident damage and other issues with the car?
Did you get the service done at your own cost or did the supermarket agree to cover the costs?
I am glad everything worked out well. Were you not worried about potential accident damage and other issues with the car?
Lostprophet said:
I never pitch up to a dealer and buy a car.
Having worked in car sales, I'd say that is not the best strategy.Firstly by ringing ahead to enquire about a car, making an appointment to see the car and turning up - you show yourself as a decent prospect. You also have a card to play that the dealer never has and that is to make an offer for the car and walk away if they won't agree to it. No salesman likes to let a good prospect walk if there is any chance at all of making a deal.
Conversely a salesman is never going to give all the margin he is allowed to give over the phone - because he has no way of making you stick to your price if he agrees.
Of course you need to do your sums before you visit, know the trade value of the car you are interested in buying and that you are going to have to leave a decent profit for the dealer.
But if you turn up to see a car with the intention to buy at a price you know you will be happy with and are prepared to sign if they agree to it - then you give the dealer an incentive to make the deal.
How the salesman reacts to your offer will give you some indication of how things are going to turn out. If he says its quite low but he will ask his sales manager about it, is actually a good sign - especially if he follows it by asking if you will sign up for the car if he agrees.
If he makes a counter offer, then you are "disappointed because you really want the car but are going to have to think about it, and there is a couple of other cars that you can look at" etc etc the idea that you are going to walk sometimes gets them to rethink.
Of course you can low ball the dealer which leaves you room to make a higher offer later, that can work well if the dealer has had the car for a while and is desperate to move it on and may even be prepared to take what the car owes him.
Edited by Max Maxasson on Tuesday 10th May 16:31
Lostprophet said:
Did you get the service done at your own cost or did the supermarket agree to cover the costs?
I am glad everything worked out well. Were you not worried about potential accident damage and other issues with the car?
Hi, yes we did our homework and had the service costs in mind when viewing this particular car. The money we saved with NOT getting it from bmw was put towards the service, an with plenty to spare.I am glad everything worked out well. Were you not worried about potential accident damage and other issues with the car?
We did every check possible and thoroughly went over the car, you take your chance buying from elsewhere but bmw used have some rough cars for sale so they arnt all they are cracked up to be!
I bought a 3 Series last August from a BMW franchise. The salesman was refreshing, no BS, no pressure. Just a nice guy. Once the deal was done, I asked him for some tips should I wish to buy another car for my girlfriend. I got a good deal on the 3 Series but I didn't pull their pants down, so thought I'd try my luck on some tips from a seasoned pro!
He gave me some really good pointers. He said to always make salesmen aware you know they have "three pots". One the price of the car you wish to buy, one the price of your part ex, and one for any finance you take out (for which the dealer gets a kick back). The idea is to get a good deal for each three of the pots, not just one (most people just want money off the screen price).
Fast forward to March, the 3 Series no longer scratched the itch and I saw a nice, used M5 in my local dealer. I did some research and the spec on it was great - literally every extra you could imagine, with some warranty and service pack remaining. It was around the 40k mark. The screen price was very keen, some independents were selling similar cars for 4-5k more. The nice salesman from earlier in the story had left the business by this point, the guy I dealt with on this occasion was the stereotypical car salesman - a smarmy, horrible c***.
I signalled my interest in the showroom and I got a part ex price for my 3 Series which was awful, worked on some numbers and told them how far I was willing to go (cash on top of the part ex). They said they couldn't give me any money off the car and couldn't increase the part ex offer. End of story.
I let my interest cool, they kept calling me but wouldn't budge on the figures. I then asked them to stop calling me. The next day, the used car sales manager left a voicemail saying he'd like to twist my arm. I gave him the same figures and said don't call me back unless you can match them.
A couple of hours later they called and accepted the deal I put on the table.
I managed to save a grand off the screen price, and got an extra 3.5k on the trade in for my 3 Series. The original part ex they offered, although awful, was higher than the Parkers guide price and higher than what We Buy Any Car and the like had offered. The old car was due a service, a full set of tyres, and was generally pretty tired after a hard six months with me at the wheel.
When I dealt with the sales manager I was very clear and very blunt about the three pots (two, in this case). He said the part ex price was outrageous, and his experience dealing with me felt like I'd "stolen his wife's purse".
Now that's a result
(Maybe one day I'll post about the rest of the M5 experience, and the bit where I was told I probably couldn't afford the car or the insurance!)
He gave me some really good pointers. He said to always make salesmen aware you know they have "three pots". One the price of the car you wish to buy, one the price of your part ex, and one for any finance you take out (for which the dealer gets a kick back). The idea is to get a good deal for each three of the pots, not just one (most people just want money off the screen price).
Fast forward to March, the 3 Series no longer scratched the itch and I saw a nice, used M5 in my local dealer. I did some research and the spec on it was great - literally every extra you could imagine, with some warranty and service pack remaining. It was around the 40k mark. The screen price was very keen, some independents were selling similar cars for 4-5k more. The nice salesman from earlier in the story had left the business by this point, the guy I dealt with on this occasion was the stereotypical car salesman - a smarmy, horrible c***.
I signalled my interest in the showroom and I got a part ex price for my 3 Series which was awful, worked on some numbers and told them how far I was willing to go (cash on top of the part ex). They said they couldn't give me any money off the car and couldn't increase the part ex offer. End of story.
I let my interest cool, they kept calling me but wouldn't budge on the figures. I then asked them to stop calling me. The next day, the used car sales manager left a voicemail saying he'd like to twist my arm. I gave him the same figures and said don't call me back unless you can match them.
A couple of hours later they called and accepted the deal I put on the table.
I managed to save a grand off the screen price, and got an extra 3.5k on the trade in for my 3 Series. The original part ex they offered, although awful, was higher than the Parkers guide price and higher than what We Buy Any Car and the like had offered. The old car was due a service, a full set of tyres, and was generally pretty tired after a hard six months with me at the wheel.
When I dealt with the sales manager I was very clear and very blunt about the three pots (two, in this case). He said the part ex price was outrageous, and his experience dealing with me felt like I'd "stolen his wife's purse".
Now that's a result
(Maybe one day I'll post about the rest of the M5 experience, and the bit where I was told I probably couldn't afford the car or the insurance!)
Edited by foobies on Tuesday 10th May 19:16
Some good points on this thread.
We know everyone has to make a living and keeping these posh showrooms looking good costs money, but to refuse to even knock £500 off a 50k car, then bidding you in the balls on a px is a bit much.
If we just went and looked and haggled face to face then things might have been different.
Also what peed me of on one car in Sheffield, before we got the desired info on the car, the saleswoman was talking about gap insurance and tyre insurance, ! This was before we even found out the spec of the car!
We know everyone has to make a living and keeping these posh showrooms looking good costs money, but to refuse to even knock £500 off a 50k car, then bidding you in the balls on a px is a bit much.
If we just went and looked and haggled face to face then things might have been different.
Also what peed me of on one car in Sheffield, before we got the desired info on the car, the saleswoman was talking about gap insurance and tyre insurance, ! This was before we even found out the spec of the car!
Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff